


The Universe in His Eyes

by callmehamish



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Holiday, M/M, Stargazing, post-reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-08 06:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/440360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmehamish/pseuds/callmehamish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock and John take a holiday and stargaze.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Universe in His Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buttgeek](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=buttgeek), [dinosaurtea](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dinosaurtea).



It wasn’t often that John and Sherlock took holidays. Sherlock found them interminably droll and thought they took him out of the line of fire of potentially interesting cases.

John was tired of London, though, for the first time since Sherlock came back into his life. He wanted a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city, so he forced Sherlock to go along with him, despite lengthy protest and half-arsed sabotages.

Eventually they were there, on holiday, standing on the top of a hillock. The path up had been an easy one requiring minimal exertion while still having the feel of a hike. The two men were nowhere near out-of-breath from the walk up, but the sight of the sun’s last rays fading over the horizon, reflecting light shades of cobalt that faded into midnight blue and inky navy at the zenith, was enough to take the air from their lungs and the words from their mouths.

John’s gaze was empty, and he was lost in thought. He found his mind once more and looked over the edge of the knoll they stood upon. The grass ended and dropped off, becoming a rocky cliffside made up of dark grey and black stone. At the base, the rolling mounds stretched on as far as any man could see. John found himself taken back to the day at Bart’s, and imagined what Sherlock must have been thinking as he peered over the edge of the hospital’s rooftop.

It seemed as if Sherlock telepathically knew what John was thinking as he tentatively put a hand on the doctor’s shoulder. John turned, the grim memories fading, replaced with the luminously pale, but tangible, face of the only man he’d ever loved. He flashed a warm smile at his counterpart. “Let’s lie down,” he said suddenly.

The pair turned their backs to the twilight sunset and lay down, staring upward. Stars were popping into view everywhere, and the thick belt of the Milky Way was stretching its way across the sky. John sighed and looked over at Sherlock. The consulting detective may not have enjoyed the idea of a holiday, or the drive from London to their destination, or the walk up the hill, but in this moment, he was peaceful. His expression was empty, as it usually was, but something in his eyes was…contented.

Sherlock cleared his throat. “John, how many planets are in the solar system?”

John guffawed. “Sorry. That’s…that was just a…yeah, never mind. Um, there were nine, but the ninth was declared not-an-actual-planet and taken off the list a few years ago.”

Sherlock bit his lip. “Pluto. I remember that happening. Look there,” he said and pointed up at the sky, “That’s a planet. Could that be Pluto?”

John smiled. He shook his head. “You’re pointing too far to the left. Pluto’s over there.” he pointed the opposite direction.

Sherlock pointed again. “There?”

John grabbed Sherlock’s sleeve and tugged it further toward him. “It’s in that direction. You know we can’t actually see Pluto from here, right?”

Sherlock swallowed. “O-of course. I’m not an idiot, John. I may not have known that the sun is at the center of the solar system, but it takes simple logic to figure that the planet at the edge is remarkably far away.”

John smiled pleasantly. Sherlock was always quick to cover his mistakes, and John was always quick to point them out (since they happened so infrequently), but John didn’t want to spoil the mood, so he let Sherlock have the last word in that respect. John was pleased to have Sherlock back. He stared dreamily at the sky, lazily commenting to himself when he located a major constellation. Every now and then he’d comment on how vast the universe was, or how right the moment felt, and Sherlock would vocalize an agreement.

And the two of them lay like that for so long they lost track of time. Sherlock and John ended up facing each other, legs intertwined and fingers waffled. As Sherlock and John gazed into each other’s eyes, John realized he hadn’t needed to get away from the city to see the universe. All he needed was Sherlock and this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> It was inspired by a picture on Tumblr. One of my followers reblogged it saying it needed a fic, so I felt morally obligated to provide the literature. I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
